The present invention relates to an apparatus, a system and a method for communicating a fault in a combination vehicle. Commercial vehicles, such as long haul tractors, may be equipped to pull more than one trailer. In some instances, a combination of three trailers and two dollies may be connected in series to the tractor to maximize the amount of cargo capable of being transported by the single tractor.
The tractor, trailers and dollies are required to be equipped with anti-lock braking systems (ABS). The power supply located on the tractor is generally connected in parallel with the trailers and dollies along long lengths of wire and multi-pin connectors at each portion of the combination vehicle. The tractor, trailer and dollies are capable of communicating among themselves using a power line carrier communication system over the shared power supply wire. If there is a fault in a trailer or dolly ABS, the fault must be communicated to the tractor to inform the driver of the vehicle of the trailer ABS fault. In some instances, the fault message from a trailer or trailers at the distal end of the combination vehicle will not be received by the tractor due to message degradation over the length of wire, loading on the power line, noise on the power line or other interference. There is a need for an improved method to communicate faults from a trailer or dolly to a tractor in a combination vehicle.